further calefactory ramblings

There is a large tree that overhangs our patio here at Towfi Towers. Its drooping branches have very
attractive pinnate leaves and, in late summer, it bears pendulous clusters
of hard pink fruit the size of peppercorns. It is called a
"pepper tree" though it is not related to any of the kinds of
pepper we discussed last week. One need only to crush a leaf,
though, to release the pungent scent of black pepper. Some old books
state that all parts of the tree are poisonous but the pink
"peppercorns" are beginning to turn up in grocery stores under
the name "rose pepper". Just as lemon-grass has the
flavor of lemon without its tartness, "rose pepper" has all the
fragrance of pepper without the "heat".
["Perfect", says Melanie.]

In 1698, an Englishman
returned from Jamaica and wrote that "They make a rare Soop they call
Pepper-Pot" and in 1704 another traveler referred to "That most
delicate palate-scorching soop called pepper-pot, a kind of devilís
broth much eat in the West Indies". Recipes for this wondrous
fluid vary wildly but one of the most curious ingredients is cassareep, a
syrup which is used both as a thickening agent and as a potent
antiseptic. Its name comes from the language spoken by the
indigenous Native Americans of the Caribbean, the Carib. This people
(who were also known as Galibi) inspired Shakespeare's Caliban and,
by way of some very bad press, their name entered English as cannibal. Cassareep is the inspissated
(yes, we get to use that word again!) juice of cassava roots after you've
boiled all the poison out of them. Can you picture the very first cook
to try this...?

"Dinner won't be long.
I think I've boiled all the poison out of the cassava and I'm just
inspissating the cassareep, And by the way, save your leftovers to
treat wounds and abrasions."

Well, would you eat it?

The English marsh plant
called water-pepper was once an everyday household item but not in the
kitchen. In earlier times, this "pepper" was valued as an
insecticide and was placed between the bed sheets to kill fleas and
lice. Unfortunately, the "heat" from this herb may be felt
by mere contact with the skin, a property which earned it the alternative names
of arse-smart and smart-arse. This meaning of smart-arse
is far older than the modern usage (= American smart-ass) but may
have contributed to its formation. We assume that water-pepper fell
into disuse as an insecticide because nobody likes a smart-arse.